Monday, March 29, 2010

When we found out that GARLIC was the ingredient for this edition of Weekend Wokking, JS and I put our thinking caps on. The difficulty was in deciding which garlic-intensive dish to make, as we like so many things -- or perhaps I should say, everything -- with garlic! This whole blog seems to be composed of all-garlic-all-the-time posts.

Finally, we thought of one of my absolutest-favoritest dishes, "White Pork with Garlic Sauce" (蒜泥白肉).

But, therein lies the problem.

[ts]There seems to be a thousand and one ways to make this "garlic sauce", and every time I happen to see a recipe, it is not the version I want. Usually, the recipes would call for a soy sauce-y version where the sauce seems to be merely soy sauce with chopped garlic thrown in.

I even saw one with oyster sauce! Super gasp! That is so not what I am looking for.

What I want is the thick, slightly sweet, pale brown garlic sauce that I get with this dish -- #61 on the menu -- at Cabin 5555. (In fact, I have mentioned this Dish #61 love of mine here and here and here.)

Note to Vancouverites: I've also had this dish atBeefy Beef Noodlesand their garlic sauce is similar to Cabin 5555's.

I've asked around. I've looked at recipes. But, to no avail.

Finally, I asked my friend AL. She was the bride whose wedding JS and I attended in Taipei in March 2009. AL's mother is an extremely good cook, so it's very likely that she would be the key to unlock this garlic sauce mystery. However, it sometimes seems that AL's mother is a little unwilling to part with her wisdom.I took a chance and sent AL an email, marking it "urgent", asking her if her mother could tell me the secret to that garlic sauce.

[ts]Here's is the reply that I received from AL.

You've asked me before!! And my mother's reply was very vague!

Fine, if it pleases you, I will CALL HER RIGHT NOW.

OK, I'm back. Here's how our conversation played out:

"Mom, TS wants to know how you make the garlic sauce for the pork dish." (Obviously, I'm paraphrasing. I told her the name of the dish.)

"You dice the garlic and add soy sauce. And if you want, you can add a little sugar."

"But she wants to know why the sauce is thick, not thin, like soy sauce."

"So she wants a thick sauce or not?"

"A THICK SAUCE."

"Then you add garlic! The garlic is what makes it thick! You have to really GROUND the garlic. Then you add soy sauce and sugar to taste."

[ts]OMG!!! Nobody ever told me this before!!!

AL elaborated:

Okay, here I must add my own take on the making of the sauce.

The name of the pork dish, word for word, in Chinese, is "garlic mud white meat."

Well, obviously the "white meat" refers to the pork. The "essence" is therefore in the "garlic MUD." Maybe the word "mashed" is a better translation.

Anyhow, you HAVE TO MASH that sucker!

[ts]OMG!!!! I never knew that the first two characters of the dish's name was GARLIC MUD!!!!

Armed with this life-changing information, I set to work!

"White Meat"

[ts]For all of you who guessed "fat" when I posted the picture above, good on you! I was very impressed. There was even an anonymous commenter who wrote that it was the "hardened fat from stock". Wow.

Although, my mother was also fooled into thinking it was fresh coconut meat. She wanted to eat it right then and there!

All this fat came from pork belly, of course.

[ts]I simply simmered pork belly in plain old water for about an hour until they were tender but not falling apart. We let them cool in the liquid overnight. The next day, I was enamored with the fat on top since it was so clean and white! I've never seen it that clean before! That pork fat is now sitting in the refrigerator.

I sliced the pork belly as thinly as I could.

The prettier slices in the foreground, the uglier ones in the back. =)

Garlic Sauce, Version 1

[ts]Well, I didn't want my heart to be broken too soon, so I decided to make a "regular" garlic sauce first, not the life-changing garlic-mud version.

In a pot, boil water. Add pork belly. When the water comes back to a boil, turn the heat to low. Cover and simmer for about an hour, until meat is tender but not falling apart. Let cool in the liquid and store overnight in the refrigerator. The next day, take out pork belly and slice thinly. Set aside.

This looks wonderful, a true garlic lover's dream dish. The garlic mud looks as if it pairs perfectly with the boiled pork belly, allowing each element of the dish to stand out. I am definitely going to give this a try.

And I thought (prior to reading this post) that I was the only woman in the northern hemisphere to eat thick garlic paste!)You proved me wrong; wonderful master class on the intricacies of pork and garlic/ thanks!

There is no such thing as too much garlic. Sometimes when I pass Asian or Greek restaurants there is a garlicky aroma in the street. Such a great smell. I haven't had this dish in years but I'm going to make it soon. Thanks for sharing your recipe. Though I think I'll cook my garlic mud in some oil.